It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living
About this audiobook
Every story can change a life.
Growing up isn’t easy. Many young people face daily tormenting and bullying, making them feel like they have nowhere to turn. This is especially true for LGBT kids and teens who often hide their sexuality for fear of being bullied. Without other openly gay adults and mentors in their lives, they can’t imagine what their future may hold. In many instances, gay and lesbian adolescents are taunted—even tortured—simply for being themselves.
After a number of tragic suicides by LGBT students who were bullied in school, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage uploaded a video to YouTube with his partner, Terry Miller, to inspire hope for LGBT youth facing harassment. Speaking openly about the bullying they suffered as teenagers and how they both went on to lead rewarding adult lives, they launched the It Gets Better Project YouTube channel and initiated a worldwide phenomenon. With over six thousand videos posted and over twenty million views in the first three months alone, the world has embraced the opportunity to provide personal, honest, and heartfelt support for LGBT youth everywhere.
It Gets Better is a collection of expanded essays and new material from celebrities, everyday people, and teens who have posted videos of encouragement, as well as new contributors who have yet to post videos to the site. While many of these teens couldn’t see a positive future for themselves, others can. We can show LGBT youth the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach if they can just get through their teen years. By sharing these stories, It Gets Better reminds teenagers in the LGBT community that they are not alone—and it WILL get better.
About the author
Dan Savage is an author, journalist, and activist widely known and appreciated for his mordant wit, political commentary, and commonsensical approach to all manner of sexual issues. He is the author of the internationally syndicated column “Savage Love” and the editorial director of The Stranger, a weekly newspaper in Seattle. His writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the op-ed pages of the New York Times, Travel & Leisure, Salon.com, Nest, Rolling Stone, The Onion, and many other publications. He lives in Seattle, Washington, with his husband Terry Miller.
Terry Miller is a DJ, event promoter, musician, and music critic/blogger. He is Dan Savage’s partner of sixteen years.
Richard Powers has published thirteen novels. He is a MacArthur Fellow and received the National Book Award. His book, The Overstory, won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.
Marguerite Gavin has recorded over three hundred audiobooks in numerous genres. Her work has won AudioFile Earphones and Publishers Weekly Listen-Up awards as well as a nomination for the prestigious Audie award. AudioFile magazine says "Marguerite Gavin is an accomplished storyteller... with a sonorous voice, rich and full of emotion, she easily delivers wry humor and moves smoothly from accent to accent, recalling multiple characters perfectly." Gavin divides her time as an actress between the sound studio and classical theater. She lives in the Washington, DC area.
